Cartridge carrier



Oct. 19, 1965 E. w. WOOLFOLK CARTRIDGE CARRIER Filed April 14, 1964 EldonWWoolfolk INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,212,689 CARTRIDGE CARREER Eldon W. Woolfollr, 4416 NE. 25th Ave., Portland, Oreg. Filed Apr. 14, 1964, Ser. No. 359,600 3 Claims. (Cl. 224-13) This invention relates to cartridge carriers, and has for its primary objective the provision of a cartridge carrier in which a substantial supply of cartridges may be carried on the belt in a compact arrangement, which carrier is manipulated with speed and facility to render the cartridges readily accessible for transfer to a gun, and which carrier is of simplified construction for economical manufacture.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of a cartridge carrier embodying the features of the present invention and adapted primarily for the carrying of a clip of cartridges of small caliber;

FIG. 2 is a sectional View taken along the line 22 in FIG. 1 and showing in dot and dash lines a cartridge clip supported in the carrier;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2 and showing the carrier adjusted to the position in which the cartridge clip is partially retracted from the carrier;

FIG. 4 is a view in front elevation of a modified form of carrier adapted primarily to support a box of cartridges, portions of the carrier being broken away to disclose details of construction;

FIG. 5 is a view in side elevation as viewed from the right in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 66 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a View in side elevation of a further modified form of carrier adapted primarily to support a clip of rifle cartridges of large caliber, a portion of the carrier being broken away to disclose details of construction; and

FIG. 8 is a view in front elevation as viewed from the right in FIG. 7, portions being broken away to disclose details of internal construction.

Considering first the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the cartridge carrier comprises a hollow housing having a back wall It) and a front wall 12 spaced therefrom by means of the interconnecting side walls 14. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the housing is made of leather or other suitably flexible material, wherein the back wall is formed of an elongated strip of the material and the front and side walls are formed of another strip of the material with the adjacent edges of the back and side walls being secured together by such means as the stitching 16.

The housing thus has an open top end dimensioned to receive a cartridge clip 18 or other container the'rethrough for confinement within the housing. The bottom end of the housing may be open, as illustrated, and preferably is constructed to provide a bottom opening which is smaller in dimensions than the corresponding dimensions of the cartridge container, to prevent the latter from passing downwardly through the housing.

Extending upwardly from the back wall of the housing, and preferably formed as an integral extension of the flexible strip forming said back wall, is a closure flap This flap is adapted to be moved between a retracted position to the rear of the open top end of the housing, to permit extraction of the cartridge container, and a closed position overlying the open top end of the housing for securing a cartridge container within the housing.

The terminal portion of the closure flap is adapted to 3,212,689 Patented Get. 19, 1965 fold downward and overlap a portion of the front wall of the housing and means is provided for releasably securing said lapped portions together for retaining the closure flap in closed position. In the embodiment illustrated, the fastener means comprises the male and female components 20 and 22, respectively, of a conventional snap fastener. Although the position of these components may be interchanged, the male component 20 is shown attached to the front wall 12 of the housing and the female component 22 to the closure flap 10.

Means is provided for facilitating the extraction of the cartridge container from the housing. Thus, an elongated retractor strip 24 of leather or other flexible material is secured adjacent one end to the inner side of the front wall 12 of the housing, as by means of the rivet 26 which may form a part of the male component 20 of the snap fastener. The strip extends downward from said attachment, along the inner surface of the front wall 12, thence rearwardly across the opening in the housing and then upward along the inner surface of the back wall 10 and outward through the top opening in the housing. The projecting free end of the strip thus forms a tab 24' which may be gripped by the fingers for pulling the strip upwardly.

The retractor strip 24 thus forms a downwardly extending U-shaped loop adapted to receive the cartridge container 18 therein. As the cartridge container is pushed into the housing the closed end of the loop moves downwardly, by relative sliding movement between the container, strip and housing back wall. With the cartridge container housed completely within the housing, the terminal tab portion 24 of the strip projects sufiiciently from the open top end of the housing to accommodate gripping by the fingers.

The flexible projecting tab 24' on the outer end of the strip 24 simply folds over the open top end of the housing during closure of the flap, as will be apparent.

When it is desired to extract the cart-ridge container from the housing, the projecting tab is gripped by the fingers and pulled upward (FIG. 3), whereupon the closed end of the loop moves upward until a sulficient portion of the cartridge container is exposed above the housing to be gripped by the fingers and retracted completely from the housing.

Inorder to facilitate the insertion and retraction of the cartridge container relative to the housing and retractor strip, a projecting abutment 28 is secured to the inner side of the strip, intermediate the ends of the latter, in a position for engagement by the inner end of the cartridge container. In the embodiment illustrated, the abutment comprises a block of metal, leather, or other suitable material, secured to the strip by such means as the rivet 30. Thus, by virtue of the engagement of the inner end of the cartridge container with the abutment block, inward and outward movement of the container relative to the housis achieved with minimum sliding friction between the container and strip.

Means is provided for mounting the carrier on the trouser belt. In the embodiment illustrated, this means is provided by a strip 32 of leather or other suitable material secured at its opposite ends to the outer surface of the back wall It? of the housing, as by means of the rivets 34. The strip thus forms with the back wall an open loop through which the trouser belt may be threaded, in manner well known in the art.

Referring now to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the carrier similarly includes a hollow housing having a back wall 40 and a front wall 42 spaced therefrom by means of the lateral side walls 44 secured to the back wall as by means of the stitching 46. The open top end of the housing is dimensioned to receive therethrough a cartridge container 48, such as the inner portion of a conventional box of cartridges. The bottom end of the housing also may be open but need not be constricted as in the embodiment first described.

Since the housing preferably is made of leather or other flexible material, it is desirable to provide a structural liner for the housing in order to maintain the desired hollow shape of the latter. To this end there is received within the housing a U-shaped liner of metal or other suitable structural material. The liner includes a back wall 50 and laterally spaced side walls 52, the front being open. This liner may be retained Within the housing simply by frictional contact with the inner surfaces of the latter, or it may be secured by adhesive, rivets, or other suitable means. In the embodiment illustrated, the liner is retained within the housing simply by frictional contact with the housing walls.

As in the embodiment first described, an elongated retractor strip 54 of leather or other flexible material is secured adjacent one end to one of the housing walls, as by the rivet 56. In this instance, the strip is secured to the inner surface of the housing side wall which faces the open side of the U-shaped liner. The strip then extends downward along said housing side wall, thence across the housing opening and then upward freely along the inner side of the back wall 50 of the liner and outward through the open top end of the housing.

Since this embodiment is adapted to carry a box of cartridges, an auxiliary container therefor is secured to an intermediate portion of the retractor strip located on the closed side 50 of the liner. In the embodiment illustrated, the auxiliary container includes a bottom wall 62, an inner end wall 60 and spaced side walls 64. The end wall of the auxiliary container is secured to the strip by such means as the rivet 66.

The auxiliary container is open on the side opposite the end wall 60 and also preferably at the end opposite the bottom wall 62, to facilitate insertion and removal of the cartridge box 48.

With the closure flap 4i) retracted, exposing the open top end of the housing, the projecting tab 54' on the retractor strip 54 may be gripped in the fingers and pulled outward, thus retracting the auxiliary container and the box of cartridges supported therein, to a horizontal position above the housing. The desired number of cartridges then may be removed from the open top end of the box. Thereafter the auxiliary container and the box of cartridges, together with the preceding portion of the strip loop, is reinserted into the housing, within the confines of the supporting liner if used, and pushed downward to the position illustrated wherein the assembly is confined with in the housing. The smooth surface of the liner also facilitates movement of the retractor strip 54. The projecting tab 54' then is folded over the outer end of the housing and the closure flap folded over and secured in closed position.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the carrier comprises a hollow housing having a back wall 70 and a front wall 72 spaced therefrom by means of the lateral side walls 74 secured to the back wall as by the stitching 76. This structure provides an open top end and an open restricted bottom end, similar to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. In this latter embodiment, however, the carrier is adapted primarily for the larger types of clips used for rifle cartridges.

Thus, the top end opening is dimensioned to receive the clip and the bottom end opening is restricted to prevent the clip from passing through it. The carrier does not include the retractor strip of the embodiment first described, but rather the open bottom end of the housing is sufficiently large to receive a finger upwardly therethrough to assist in retracting the cartridge clip from the housing. The back wall extension '70 provides a closure fiap, secured by the snap fastener components 22 as previously described.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in the shape, size, arrangement of parts, materials and other details of construction described hereinbefore may be made without departing from the spirit of this invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having now described my invention and the manner in which it may be used, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A carrier for a cartridge container, comprising (a) a hollow housing having front, back and side walls efining an open top end dimensioned to receive a cartridge container therethrough,

(b) a flexible retractor strap secured at one end in the housing toone of said walls thereof and projecting at its opposite end outward through the open top end of the housing from the wall of the latter opposite said one wall,

(c) the strap being adapted to extend freely downward from said secured end along said securing wall of the housing, thence across to the opposite wall of the housing and upward along said opposite wall and out through the open top end of the housing, thereby forming a downwardly extending loop in which to support a cartridge container,

. (d) and container abutment means secured to the retractor strap intermediate the ends of the latter for movement therewith and adapted to engage the inner end of a cartridge container,

(e) the strap being adapted to be pulled upwardly at its outer end to draw the abutment means and engaged cartridge container upwardly through the open top end of the housing.

2. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the abutment means comprises an abutment block.

3. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the abutment means comprises an auxiliary container dimensioned to removably receive a cartridge container and having an inner end wall'adapted to engage the cartridge container.

References ited by the Examiner UNITED sTA Es PATENTS 1,388,073 8/21 Stewart 224 23 1,690,308 11/28 Nivois. 1,902,963 3/33 Le Page. 1,949,165 2/34 Krieger. 2,718,300 9/55 Goldberg. 2,995,280 8/61 Thierry 22420 FOREIGN PATENTS 472,603 3/ 14 France.

3,068 2/97 Great Britain.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

HUGO O. SCHULZ, Examiner. 

1. A CARRIER FOR A CARTRIDGE CONTAIONER, COMPRISING (A) A HOLLOW HOUSING HAVING FRONT, BACK AND SIDE WALLS DEFINING AN OPEN TOP END DIMENSIONED TO RECEIVE A CARTRIDGE CONTAINER THERETHROUGH, (B) A FLEXIBLE RETRACTOR STRAP SECURED AT ONE END IN THE HOUSIONG TO ONE OF SAID WALLS THEREOF AND PROJECTING AT ITS OPPOSITE END OUTWARD THROUGH THE OPEN TOP END OF THE HOUSING FROM THE WALL OF THE LATTER OPPOSITE SAID ONE WALL, (C) THE STRAP BEIONG ADAPTED TO EXTEND FREELY DOWNWARD FROM SAID SECURED END ALONG SAID SECURING WALL OF THE HOUSING, THENCE ACROSS TO THHE OPPOSITE WALL OF THE HOUSING AND UPWARD ALONG SAID OPPOSITE WALL AND OUT THROUGH THE OPEN TOP END OF THE HOUSING, THEREBY FORMING A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING LOOP IN WHICH TO SUPPORT A CARTRIDGE CONTAINER, (D) AND CONTAINER ABUTMENT MEANS SECURED TO THE RETRACTOR STRAP INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS OF THE LATTER FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH AND ADAPTED TO ENGAGE IN THE INNER END OF A CARTRIDGE CONTAINER, (E) THE STRAP BEING ADAPTED TO BE PULLED UPWARDLY AT ITS OUTER END TO DRAW THE ABUTMENT MEANS AND ENGAGED CARTRIDGE CONTAIONER UPWARDLY THROUGH THE OPEN TOP END OF THE HOUSING. 